About Nihonshock

Hello and welcome to Nihonshock, thanks for stumbling by. If you’re new here I imagine you have a few questions on your mind, so let’s get right to it.

What is Nihonshock?

Nihonshock is a blog that offers useful and (hopefully) enjoyable content for Japanese language learners, foreigners living in Japan, and anyone else with an active interest in the country.

Who runs Nihonshock?

That would be me, Lloyd Vincent, formerly a translator of 4 years who lived in Nagoya, Japan. I love Japanese language and culture and it’s my mission to enable others to enjoy it as fully as I have.

What will you find here?

Japanese language and study tips

Pictures and stories of strange and interesting things from around Japan

Information useful for moving to, living in or traveling around Japan

Cultural tidbits

Occasional Japanese news that is of interest

…and more!

Anything else you should know?

If you have a question about Japan or Japanese, or if there’s a specific topic you’d like me to write about, feel free to message me on twitter or fill out the contact form. Of course I can’t guarantee to be willing or able to do an article on everything that is requested, but I’ll try my best.

Also, be aware that this site will contain content that some (conservative) households might consider inappropriate (I mean, the subject of this site is the country that invented used panties in vending machines and has festivals in honor of the male reproductive organ, among other phenomena…), so consider yourself warned.

What does “Nihon” mean?

“Nihon” is how you say “Japan” in Japanese. It is written 日本, which means the origin of the sun, because Japan is the easternmost country in Asia (hence the common reference to Japan as “the land of the rising sun”).

Okay, that about wraps up the introduction. Updates come once or twice a week so be sure to check back when I’m not too busy with work or side-projects, or subscribe to Nihonshock’s RSS feed!